The Sound of My Gun
by queenmab-scherzo
Summary: /Movieverse./ For those of us who didn't know - including Sam, Bumblebee, and myself - Ironhide drove Captain Lennox home. Pointless oneshot.


THE SOUND OF MY GUN

**So here's the deal. It took me until about the fifth time I saw the 07 TF movie before I realized it was Ironhide who drove Captain Lennox home to his wife and daughter. It made me feel really stupid, and then it inspired me. The title doesn't mean anything, I just couldn't think of one, and I happen to be listening to Aerosmith. I thought the phrase was appropriate for Ironhide. So anyway. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: Ah, fan fiction. My favorite form of copyright infringement.

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The sun was high and hot in the Nevada sky, and beat down mercilessly on the lookout. There was no breeze to provide relief, and the tree was too small to shade Bumblebee, so Sam had insisted on standing in the sun with him. They waited for the Autobots without speaking. Now that Bumblebee could use his voice, he didn't know what to say to Sam, and Sam in turn didn't know what they might talk about. They both turned at the sound of an engine.

Ironhide rumbled up the dirt road, winding his way leisurely to where the kid and his Camaro waited.

"Wonder where he's been?" Sam asked vaguely, not really seeking an answer.

"I don't know," Bumblebee replied, and Sam jumped at the sound.

Bumblebee looked down at him quisically, not having to ask the question before Sam answered apologetically. "Guess I'm not used to your voice, yet..."

Ironhide stopped several feet away from them and transformed, allowing Sam to admire again what an elegant process it really was. When he was finished, he looked at Sam and Bumblebee, who stared at him wordlessly. "What?" he asked defensively.

"Where did you go?" Sam asked curiously.

Ironhide looked uncomfortable. There was a rumble from deep in his chest, and he answered in an uncharacteristically formal tone, "I was escorting Captain Lennox to his place of residence."

Bumblebee cocked his head, but it was Sam who spoke. "I thought...I thought you didn't like humans?"

"Well, not _all_ of them," Ironhide mumbled, and then raised his voice, "but did you see that man in the city? Did you see how he fought? And how his men respected him?"

Sam smiled, feeling a surge of pride for his country's soldiers for impressing an elite, high-ranking warrior from another galaxy.

Ironhide's continued, "He was the one who brought down Blackout. Almost single-handedly."

Bumblebee chirped in appreciation. Sam realized that Ironhide felt a connection to Captain Lennox, whether he would admit it or not; that he could relate to a fellow warrior, be he from Earth, Cybertron, or Pluto.

"So you do like humans," Sam smiled.

"Maybe a number of them, yes," Ironhide conceded stiffly. "I can appreciate your country's armed forces."

"How come you stayed overnight?" Sam asked, squinting up at the black Autobot.

Ironhide didn't answer right away. He looked between Sam and Bee sheepishly. Or, it seemed sheepish to Sam, who was familiar with the emotion even if he wasn't familiar with robots showing emotion to begin with. "I just...wanted to be sure he was...watched over." He finished the statement a little half-heartedly. Bumblebee didn't know what to say, but emitted a low, appreciative whine; of course, he knew better than anyone how it felt to have a human in his care. Ironhide added, "He has a sparkling to deal with, after all."

"Does he?" Bumblebee asked, which made Ironhide's optics glow a little brighter, even though he wouldn't say aloud how happy he was to finally hear his comrade's voice again. He nodded in response.

Sam craned his neck, looking back and forth between the two Autobots, slightly bewildered. He sputtered. "Wait--Bee, a what? What--what's a spark-thing?"

"_Sparkling_," Bumblebee corrected gently. "It is a Cybertronian's youngest state."

The concept clicked in Sam's mind. "What--a baby? Lennox has a baby at home?"

Ironhide just looked back at him uncomprehendingly, so Sam explained, slightly amused. "We don't call them sparkplugs, or whatever. They're called babies. Infants. Toddlers."

"Ah--the captain mentioned something like that."

"So shouldn't you have already known?" Sam looked a little confused.

"I don't like humans _that_ much."

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